Hood Merganser

[Bob Decker]

I went out to shoot today and after I was finished decided to run by Dicks Sporting Goods to check out a kayak. As I was pulling into the shopping center I glanced over at a holding pond and noticed a bunch of seagulls floating on in. I thought to myself, "too bad they're not ducks." As I got closer I realized they weren't seagulls but a group of Hooded Mergansers... in a fairly large town, next to a busy 4 lane road. Who'd of thought?! I got out of my van, they didn't spook, used the chainlink fence around the holding pond to support my lens and took some shots.

40D, Bigma at 500mm, f8, iso 320, 1/250, ev +33, 580EX II w/better beamer at -2.

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Great capture Bob, sure were lucky with these guys. Eye looks sharp, would have liked more room to the front and less on top and bottom. Non the less good looking image.
Congrats

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Bob,
A nice unexpected catch...these little guys are hard to expose...the whites are on the toasty side and the blacks are lacking details...I too agree on a little less on top and bottom and more room to the right. Might also selective sharpen the eye just a tad more...looking forward to more...:cool:

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Nice Bob, why the flash, was it overcast or cloudy?

Tough exposure, must protect whites, they are warm, how does histogram look? Nice HA, eye and techs look close. Maybe use S&H or levels to open up shadows, blacks are blocked - on balance - well done my friend. What a great find, are you going to buy the kayak. That would be cool, be sure to purchase insurance for the equipment (smile)

[Bob Decker]

I haven't settled on whether to buy a kayak or not, Jeff... but I'm definately interested. Would be fun to have better access to the marshes and local rivers. It was overcast, though later in the day than I'd usually choose to shoot. I liked this pose. I may have something where the blacks aren't so blocked.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

The pose is great, how many?

Bob, I will be attending some photo training in Feb around Ashville area, is that far from you. Maybe grab dinner and a beer?

[Bob Decker]

The pose is great, how many?

How many shots/poses? I don't know... twenty or so.

Bob, I will be attending some photo training in Feb around Ashville area, is that far from you. Maybe grab dinner and a beer?

Ashville is 5 or 6 hours away... other end of the state.

A rework giving a different crop and attempting to squeeze some more detail out of the blacks. I played with exposure, "black" and contrast in ACR... shadow/highlights and curves in PS.

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

Great use of surrounding for lens support. Love the big round yellow sharp eye, the pose, and the ripple around the bird. I like the horizon cropped version more than the original. I might run a small round of NR on the black after you tried to bring out the details, look a bit noisy.

[Alfred Forns]

Neat looking bird and did well with the exposure !!! Like the re post with the horizontal framing, reflection not strong enough to keep !! You should be able to find them again in the same pond, worth trying at sun up or sun down !!!